Enhanced Electrochemical Performance and Cyclic Stability of Li-Ion Batteries by Employing Nanostructured Bi₂Te₃ Particles with Amorphous ZrO₂ Nanocoating

The interest in bismuth-based anodes for energy storage devices has recently been heightened due to their high specific capacity, low working potential, excellent electrical conductivity, and environmentally friendly nature. However, capacity fading during early battery cycling is associated with solid electrolyte interphase forming and volume changes that result in performance loss and cyclic instability. In this study, we propose a strategy to engineer the interface of nanostructured Bi 2 Te 3 particles with amorphous zirconium oxide nanocoating to enhance the performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The active nanomaterial was synthesized by mechanical alloying followed by low-temperature calcination of zirconium(IV) oxynitrate at 280 ◦ C, which was predeposited on the particle surfaces via facile wet chemistry. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed that an amorphous ZrO 2 shell with few nanometer thicknesses uniformly formed and covered the particle surfaces. It was also found that Te and Bi oxides were formed at the surface, which facilitated stable interfacial bonds with the oxide nanocoating. Electrochemical studies determined that the amorphous oxide ceramic slightly increased the electrical resistance but significantly reduced the Li + diffusion coefficient (by an order of magnitude) and the formation of solid electrolyte phases. As a result, the discharge capacity of the nanostructured Bi 2 Te 3 anode enhanced from 145.8 mAh g –1 to 245.1 mAh g –1 after interfacial engineering by 2-nm-thick amorphous ZrO 2 nanocoating, while the stability was enhanced by three folds after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.5 C. The facile synthesis of amorphous nanocoating to engineer the interfacial of nanostructured anode materials paves the way to fabricate high-performance energy storage materials.